DIVISIONS are poison in politics.
Claims that unnamed senior Conservatives have dismissed the No campaign's frontman Alistair Darling as "useless" and "comatose" will only cheer the Yes camp.
No surprise then that the SNP leapt on the remarks to accuse the No camp of "fighting like ferrets in a sack".
One could argue that when one of the Tory sources suggested, apparently seriously, Jeremy Hunt, the English Health Secretary, might be a worthy replacement for Mr Darling that, to use David Cameron's favourite phrase, some mind-altering substances had been taken.
Now Mr Hunt is an astute politician but the idea of him replacing the ex-Chancellor as head of the No camp suggests a continental-sized lack of understanding of Scottish politics.
Of course, the outburst from Tory sources could reveal a darker motive: sabotage.
There are those right-wingers at Westminster who would feel it no bad thing if Scotland became independent in the belief that it would enshrine an electoral advantage for the Conservatives south of the border for generations to come.
A second suggestion that Michael Gove, the English Education Secretary, might also offer a better replacement for the Better Together chief also raised eyebrows.
The Edinburgh-born frontbencher is also a very astute politician and would undoubtedly take the fight to the Nationalists but he has a knack of attracting controversy; fine in trying to overhaul the English education system but risky in attempting to save the Union.
Then, there is the third suggestion of Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister, replacing Mr Darling.
The ex-premier is already being used in the Scottish Labour versus independence campaign and is much better liked north of the border than south of it. But Mr Darling would, no doubt, wake up screaming if he felt his old frenemy was about to replace him.
Having just substituted the urbane Michael Moore with the rather more aggressive Alistair Carmichael, what would it say for the No camp to replace the other co-pilot?
One Labour stalwart noted the SNP Government's "game-changer" of a White Paper had failed miserably and the polls continued to show the No camp well ahead. In these circumstances, he noted, why change anything?
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